A reliable commuter as a second bike

mmamster · Post by **mmamster** » Wed May 02, 2007 11:50 pm

How may of you have a second bike?

I'm thinking of getting a second bike as a commuter and saving the 600 for the track/weekend hills.

Thinking of getting a 250 as a mate of mine is thinking of doing Ls etc and could share it with me.

Budget would be circa 3K.

I was thinking a naked 250 like a VTR250 honda or something similar.

I've had a zzr250 so would steer away from that or a GPZ250 in the interests of something new.

Alternatively a road registrable dirt bike had crossed my mind.

Any thoughts???

mike-s · Post by **mike-s** » Wed May 02, 2007 11:56 pm

i bought an old crapheap to do up (for the fun of it

), gonna cost me a further couple hundred to make roadworthy i imagine (hoops & chain @ least). Will use it as a commuter once i've gotten it sorted & have my license back.

Realistically i'll probably alternate between the crapheap, and the 900cc crapheap

.

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Thu May 03, 2007 12:03 am

i bought a kdx 200 for the purpose of commuting, and letting my then mrs learn to ride on it...

it was so shit on the road, ended up just taking it to trails and thrashing it (boy was it fun tho)

if u can condone 2 rego, insurance , tyres/servicing etc then do it, if not, then dont do it... personally id buy a shitbox car to commute in case it pisses down/need groceries/ pick up big items etc... tho if u have a car already, disregard that.

as for a $3k budget..that gets u a nice shitbox 250 really ...

also weigh up whether the KM saving on the 600 will equate to much in the way of tyres, servicing insurance catergory etc

personally id work out the financial pro's & cons..and go from there..

javaman · Post by **javaman** » Thu May 03, 2007 1:26 am

Get a zx6r and use the gsxr as commuter

Strika · Post by **Strika** » Thu May 03, 2007 7:51 am

If looking at used 250's a ZZR or GPX would be cheap reliable options. A good DR/KLX or even an XR would make a good city commuter, but will struggle up at the open road limit, and would be horrible on a longer trip. Mad in the Hills but!

I have ridden the VTR250 and personally, people must buy them for the looks as they sure as hell wouldn't pull a sailor off your sister. A GPX or ZZR would have at least a 30+kph top speed advantage. Which means sitting on the speed limit is less taxing to the bike, and most definately to the rider!

Poyda · Post by **Poyda** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:00 am

I had a KLX as a first bike and commuter, Was a blast to ride, could take short cuts through fields and ovals as required etc. Took it out to the hills as well for fun, Also had a Yamahahaha DT200. Not as heavy as the KLX but just as good to ride. Both handle long rides ok, ie sydney to blue mountains. Both topped out at about 140km/h. I had a zzr250 for a while. Whilst better for long commuting, wouldnt say id go there again, would be more inclined to go for a 400 or 600 if i was on the bike for more than 30 mins. I'd also look at getting a road/trail again and fitting road tyres to it, might be a better ride

photomike666 · Post by **photomike666** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:17 am

Road legal CR500 - you know you want to. Two sets of wheels - 1 for street 1 for dirt. You'll never wear out a front tyre!!!!

J.B · Post by **J.B** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:25 am

photomike666 wrote:Road legal CR500 - you know you want to. Two sets of wheels - 1 for street 1 for dirt. You'll never wear out a front tyre!!!!

My mate has one of these and OMFG

very cool

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Thu May 03, 2007 9:41 am

i just sold the ultimate commuter - the zeph 550, i'd recommend one of them

Che · Post by **Che** » Thu May 03, 2007 10:20 am

Yes my zx14 is my second bike to my zx12........

sp500 · Post by **sp500** » Thu May 03, 2007 12:18 pm

A supermotard would be a good way to go as a commuter, can't use all that power around town from a 600/1000cc.

photomike666 · Post by **photomike666** » Thu May 03, 2007 1:18 pm

sp500 wrote:A supermotard would be a good way to go as a commuter, can't use all that power around town from a 600/1000cc.

Bars are also above car mirror level so great for lane splitting - fuel consumption isn't so good though. Two strokes are the worst.

Strika · Post by **Strika** » Thu May 03, 2007 1:27 pm

As Mammster is a Mexican, and intends sharing the bike with a learner, then he is likely to be restricted to a 250. They say an early RGV can be had for that sort of money! Some higher bars and Voila! Insane commuter scooter!

I still reckon the ZZR is the best 250 option around!

I-K · Post by **I-K** » Thu May 03, 2007 2:28 pm

My 2001 ZX6 and my 1999 ZX9 swap and switch as my first bike/second bike; it depends on which one has the new vs squared-off tyres, mostly.

250's have cheap rego in all states, so if anyone's after a second bike to use as a commuter, get one of those. Tyres, sprockets and chains will last for ages, and the risk of theft will be lower.

shrike · Post by **shrike** » Thu May 03, 2007 4:11 pm

I've been considering it...

I'd love a 250 or 400 as a commuter.

Only issue I'd have is that I'd pick up a 2-smoke or a decent 400 and then turn it into a track bike.

Then I'd be left with a track bike, the RSV and STILL no commuter...

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A reliable commuter as a second bike

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A reliable commuter as a second bike